Research Blog : local

WWII Rosie the Riveters

just_renny@evpl — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:15:00 GMT

Dr. Heidi Strobel will be presenting a program titled "Harmony of the Homefront: Homegrown Rosie the Riveters" tomorrow (March 20, 2013) starting at 6:30 in the Browning Room at Central Library. This program will feature information from an oral history research project Dr. Strobel conducted in 2008 and 2009. Dr. Strobel is currently Associate Professor of Art History in the Department of Archaeology and Art History at the University of Evansville.

The Evansville in WWII Digital Collection was funded with a grant from the US Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Indiana State Library. The WWII Speaker Series is part of the promotional events for the grant.

Ms. Mary Sims, Welder.

Evansville in WWII Digital Collection

just_renny@evpl — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:24:00 GMT

EVPL worked with the University of Southern Indiana and the Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science for the last year on the "Evansville in WWII" Digital Collection. The collection was funded with a grant from the US Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Indiana State Library.

EVPL digitized their collection of newsletters from Evansville factories producing for the war industry. The newsletters contain information about safety on the job, awards and goals acheived in production, recreational activities, comics, and photographs of laborers and their families. The newsletters can be searched by word which greatly helps when searching for something specific.

USI owns a collection of war bond posters produced and distributed nationally by the Government Printing Office. The posters are colorful and show a variety of topics that were important to the patriotic feelings of Americans during the war. A few of these posters are recognizable as they were created by Norman Rockwell, famous for his Saturday Evening Post (among other magazine) covers.

The Museum allowed EVPL to scan their collection of Evansville Shipyard photographs which were commissed by the Navy at the beginning of the shipyard construction in Evansville. The collection includes nearly 10,000 pictures of the shipyard, building construction, laborers, office workers, ship building, ship christening, recreational activities, war ships on the Ohio River, and much more. Many of these pictures contain names of workers or people involved in the ship christenings which can be searched.

In support of the efforts to bring to light Evansville's participation in WWII, EVPL is also hosting the WWII Speaker Series. The first speaker will by Mike Linderman from Angel Mounds discussing the WPA and Angel Mounds. Coming up later in March are Tom Lonnber from the Evansville Museum and Heidi Strobel from the University of Evansville. April features the final three presenters: Jennifer Greene from USI, local author Harold Morgan, and EVPL digitization clerk Lauren Weingart.

If you have questions or comments submit them to Renny in Reference Services.

Let's get Evansville on the (Google) map!

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:31:00 GMT

Evansville is one of 6 international finalists in Google's 2012 "Model Your Town Competition."

Evansville native Randall Crane created a 3D model of Evansville's downtown using Google SketchUp and Google Earth. Google selected Randall's model as one of 6 finalists from a pool of 200+ entries submitted worldwide.

It's now a popularity contest, with the public being able to vote for their favorite. The winner will receive a $25,000 prize for local schools from Google, Inc. The deadline for voting is May 1st, so let's get those votes in!

How to Vote

Go to http://www.google.com/intl/en/sketchup/competitions/modelyourtown/vote.html.
Select Evansville.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page & click the "Vote for this town" button.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

More Info

Google Earth: Tour the model yourself! Requires the Google Earth program.
Evansville one of six finalists in Google's 3D Initiative: Evansville Courier & Press article.

New Webzine Looks at Area Lifestyle Trends

potentate@evpl — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:55:00 GMT

Evansville Intelligencer is a new webzine launched in April 2009 with content on area health, dining, society, natural and architectural sites, and politics. It's free, easy to use, and readers may comment on the posts.

Mayor Announces New Web Site for Arena Project

potentate@evpl — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:00:00 GMT

In a press conference this afternoon at the Centre, Mayor Weinzapfel announced the creation of a web site for the arena project. Here you'll find all sorts of information about the project, including plans for the building, news reports, and information about the project's financing. I've already had a few calls this afternoon from people wanting to know where they can see renderings of what the arena will look like.

EVPL gives back to the community

RatherBeReading@evpl — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:39:00 GMT

Thoughts on a storm...

Wow! Sunday September 14, 2008 was a wild one. The remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through Evansville and the surrounding area like, well, the remnants of a hurricane. I heard the winds reached 60+ mph as they whipped trees around, tossed unsecured objects, and broke or uprooted many of the stately (and not so stately) trees in our fine city leaving a mess behind and many families without power.

Monday I reported to work as usual at East Branch Library located next to Bayard Park only to find the power out and the park a shambles. Power lines were down. Transformers lie in pieces on the ground. Trees were uprooted. Trees were snapped in two. Large branches were lying across the new playground equipment the city had just finished installing in the park last week. It was a mess. Vectren was saying it would be days, possibly up to a week before everyone's power was back on. My power was out at home, but I felt lucky- we have a gas water heater and stove, so really we just needed to relocate our food to friends with electricity and dust off our oil lamps. We could deal with it! However, many people in the city were not so fortunate. They had not only lost power, but also had damage to their homes and cars. Many had lost their frozen food supply before they could find someone with electricity and room in their refrigerator. Many people were in need of a helping hand.

I was extremely fortunate that EVPL offered me the opportunity to be one of those helping hands. I was given the chance to volunteer for the Red Cross until power was restored to the library. I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I arrived at the Red Cross that first day, but it turned out to be a bit of everything. I was put right to work picking chicken off the bone, then turning that chicken into over 200 sandwiches and assembling lunches for delivery into some of the hardest hit areas of the city. It didn't surprise me to find that our deliveries took us to the very neighborhood where the library is located. As we drove down the street in the Red Cross ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle) we would look for people and ask them if their power was out. If they said "yes" we would offer them food and cold drinks and ask if there was anything they needed. They were always thankful that we were out offering food and assistance. I felt fortunate that I was in "East's neighborhood". I saw and helped a number of our patrons. A few of our patrons said it was nice that they saw a familiar face helping out. (And most asked if the library was okay and when it would be reopening!) It amazed me how quickly we ran out of the food and drinks we had taken. We immediately returned to the Red Cross, assembled more lunches and refilled the drink coolers. Then it was back out to the neighborhoods. We ended the day cleaning out the ERV, wiping down the coolers, and taking stock of everything for the next day. I definitely went home tired, but felt good about what I had done. The next day I worked in the Red Cross shelter. I helped prepare and serve meals. It was different than working in the field, but the people who came in for the meals were just as thankful as those in the neighborhoods.

It was a great feeling to know that I was able to provide some relief for families in need and I am thankful that EVPL permitted me to volunteer while East was without power.

The "It's Evansville" wiki

googler@evpl — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:53:00 GMT

The Evansville blog "It's Evansville" has announced the formation of an Evansville wiki. Their goal is to "build a smaller-scale Wikipedia that focuses on the Evansville area: history, local attractions, restaurants and more. Think of it as a mixture of a history book and a Frommer’s City Guide."

New Local Newspaper

lotech@evpl — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:31:00 GMT

Free copies of a new local newspaper have appeared in our libraries: "The City County Observer". The paper describes itseilf as "A Non-Partisan Publication Dedicated to the Reporting of Your Local Government at Work". This is the first issue, August, 2008, volume 1, issue 1; the paper appears to aim for a monthly publication. Besides several articles about local government, this first issue has two pages of local candidates for the upcoming general election; the page includes thier photos and comments. A calendar of some of this month's governmental meetings appears on another page. The paper's website, http://www.citycountyobserver.com , also has a full copy of this month's paper, links to both city and county governement websites, and an archives which will apparently have past issues as new issues are published.